:*****:

the car starts but after startup and sitting for a minute to warm up, the idle gets real low and almost stalls.

at one point it had a hard time starting. it was cranking and cranking but would not start... finally it started up and immediately died

i've recently replaced the battery and tested the alternator, they seem fine.
i've adjusted the idle so it idles higher but it seems that during idle, the rpms will suddenly drop and get real low and then after a while, jump back up. no devices are on and the rad fan isn't on during this time.

woud too little coolant cause this to happen?
would too much oil cause this to happen?
would not enough fuel pressure cause this to happen?

thanks in advance.

 

Ignitor that's located in your distributor

-------- sells new distributors for $200

 

geez Trenell.. u da man.. i still have the other dizzy that i'll try out.

thanks mang.

 

Hes right i had the same problem and just to buy the ignitor was way to $$$$$, easier if you buy the whole distributor

 

if your near oakville ill come out and diagnosis for you. If not.. these are a few things to check:

-pull the plugs first and check if they are black (running rich) if they are the problem is not with your charging/starting system its either you are running extremely rich or have weak spark

-to test weak spark put a long small screwdriver into your spark plug wire and hold the screwdriver near a ground (metal) so that it can jump the gap. If it spark is yellow/orange you have weak spark, if its blue, your fine and your problem is with your fuel system

if its running rich could be a few things, huge vacuum leak, bad injectors, or poor fpr (which ive never seen go on a honda)

 

it could be ur o2 sensor..I was having almost the same problem...the rpm would be stable at one point then would suddenly go down..after replacing the o2 sensor the problem was solved..

like u said "the rpms will suddenly drop and get real low and then after a while, jump back up"

 

good tip on the o2 sensors... i know they're functional but i'll check them out.

i'll check the plugs but i don't know if it's a vacuum leak since it's not fluctuating all the time. rpms will fluctuate sometimes and other times it'll just sit stationary. but i'll check the hoses.... i've adjusted the idle so it idles higher but still sometimes it'll hover around 200-300 rpm and then jump back up to 1000 and sit there for a while.

it seems as though when the rpms drop, the sound of the motor changes and sounds like a fan turns on or something but when i check, both fans are off.

 

update:

cleaned iacv, readjusted idle, plugs are clean, wires a good, distributor cap is good, no noticable hissing noises from any vacuum hoses. no codes

after adjusting idle to sit at about 1k it's fine. it doesn't fluctuate...

one thing though i noticed.. i know the vacuum's all connected to brakes and steering ... but when i press the brake hard and release, the rpms will shoot up about 500 and drop back down.

any ideas now? ....still ignition?

 

^^^ that's normal. Same when you turn your steering wheel to full lock and hold it there, the idle with drop as well. Or if you sit there with the car running and pump the brakes.


it's either your main fuel relay or ignitor in the distributor. The helm has a test you can do on the ignitor with a meter. The main fuel relay, just needs to be opened up and have the contacts re-soldered.

 

Main Fuel Relay

Read all three pages

http://autorepair.about.com/cs/troub.../aa010301a.htm

http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/mainr...mainrelay.html


The ignitor test is in the helms, but I'm too lazy to search for what pages it's on...

http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/ignit...adigniter.html

http://www.tegger.com/hondafaq/ignit...ion/index.html

 

thanks T.. i just wanted to make sure i was on the right path....

i did look at the ignitor test before but wasn't too sure if i should go that far or not... i'll check it out.

 

what are you doing on the computer?

you should be out trick or treating with your nieces. you could go as krillin







:laugh1:

 

nah, my neices probably went with their mom or gramps... lol

i was with wifey handing it out to the munchkins.

 

OK, so i have a distributor. Now going to install it but cannot set the timing... the helms isn't really giving a how-to...

how do i set the timing and how would i know it's correct? ...do i need a timing light?

 

Damn, I finally found the link I was looking for http://www.team-integra.net/sections...ArticleID=1112

anyways, yes you need a timing light.

if you don't have one mark on the old distributor the exact position of it with either a scribe or a marker, then install your new one to the exact same position your old one was in.

http://www.team-integra.net/sections...p?ArticleID=60

You could do what I do and buy and return the timing light after your done...lol

 

yeah, i was thinking i might as well buy and return lol... right after the swap, the car felt better. it didn't feel like it was "sputtering" and it didn't shake as much when i turned off the car. before the car shuddered when i turned the car off

 

obd2a .. i don't have a screw on the rotor to take it off

 

I was just gonna say the same thing man i had the same problem and i asked Trenell and WHAMO its fixed

 

got the new dizzy in, timed it to 16 degrees btdc or as close as i could to it and it's still giving me a lumpy idle. lumpy meaning when i set the idle to 750 +/- 50, the rpms dip low sometimes to the point where it feels like the car is going to stall.

man, this damn car is killing me. i should've just got the lgt when i had the chance.. lol..

 

damnit Jimmy...

okay give me a full list of maintence done within the last year

spark plugs?
spark plug wires?
distributor cap and rotor?
02 sensor?
coolant flush?
iacv cleaned?
fitv cleaned?
any vacuum leaks?
any codes thrown?
injectors cleaned/working?
fuel filter?
exhaust leak?
valve lash adjustment?
thermostat?
fans work?
coolant temp sensor works?
compression test?

I'll help you out if u need a hand

 

lmao.. btw t, thanks again.. haha...

plugs - 2 months ago
plug wires - not for a while but roughly 2-3 years ago (old motor, brought to new used motor)
cap & rotor - 2 days ago
coolant - 2 months ago
iact / fitv - cleaned 1 week ago **edit** i don't have an fitv, 1999
vacuum - no leaks that i can hear but i haven't done the test yet
no codes thrown - when i jump, the CEL stays on and doesn't flash
injectors cleaned 1 month ago using solution from crappy tire (good/no good-dunno)
gotta check fuel filter
valve lash (?) i'll read up on it
thermo - transferred one that i replaced last year to this motor
fans work
gotta find out how to test coolant temp sensor
may have minor exhaust leak at the manifold, didn't change the gasket during the swap
compression test haven't done, i trust -------- - maybe i should.

btw, one thing. i checked my oil level today and it seems like there's too much oil as it's above the top dot. could this have an effect on idle? when i checked it before it was in the middle.. i dunno man.

i adjusted the timing on the dizzy again to get it to 16 degrees as it was a bit off when i checked it again today... so i made triple sure that it was dead on today

edit: stupid me, when i was looking at the helms, i couldn't figure out the rotor and screw and how to remove it...... found it... ----.. i looked like the screw was in the middle of the rotor, not behind it.

 

if u have an exhaust leak, your idle would be thrown off for sure, check that out.

also double check you valve lash aka valve adjustment. I doubt that's the problem though.

The very last two things that are rare is 02 sensor and/or main fuel relay. Since your OBD2 that sucks since you need two sensors.

I've read online that you can buy some seafoam and dip your 02 sensor in it to clean off the carbon and get it to working like new again. It may work, since it's cheaper than buying a new 02 sensor. This is the only thing I haven't tried personally on my car so I don't know if it will harm the car at all...

 

the motor is obd2a meaning all the plugs are obd2a .. i've converted to obd1 ala ecu conversion harness and custom program from --------.

right now the only thing that's not plugged into the obd1 ecu is the crank angle sensor (since the jap b20 didn't have it) and an o2 sensor. dunno which o2 is the working once since both are plugged in via the obd2 engine harness.

since playing with the dizzy timing yesterday it's alot better than before.

i'll go through regular maint stuff still though to get it back 100% ..... i idle stable at 750 but after i blip the throttle in park, sometimes it dips down lower and pops right back in place.